Essendon parted ways with AFL senior coach Brad Scott following the club's dismal 1-10 start to the year, the club confirmed on Tuesday morning.
The 18th-placed Bombers' sole win of the season came against Melbourne during Gather Round last month. However, six consecutive losses following that breakthrough, including an 18-point defeat to Richmond on Friday evening at Dreamtime at the 'G, sealed Scott's fate, despite having a year still to run on his contract.
Scott joined Essendon ahead of the 2023 season and leaves the club with a record of 29 wins, one draw, and 50 losses (36.88% win rate). He ends his tenure at the Bombers with one win from his final 24 games at the helm.
Scott is the second senior coach to be removed this month, following Carlton's decision to split with Michael Voss.
Dean Solomon looms as a potential interim boss as the Bombers prepare to join Carlton, who recently parted ways with Michael Voss, in the race to land a senior coach.
Essendon next play West Coast away at Optus Stadium on Sunday.
Bombers president Andrew Welsh thanked Scott for his contributions to the club over many years.
"Brad is a resilient, stoic leader who gave everything to this football club and to the people in it. He came to Essendon with a clear set of values and he never compromised them, through good times and difficult ones," Welsh said.
"We appreciate the sacrifices he made for our club and thank him for his commitment and professionalism. Brad leaves a legacy with the decisions he made in building our list which were always club-first.
"Ultimately, whilst we know we are a young team, we are not comfortable with our current position which led us to meet as a Board to assess and make a decision on the future of the senior coach position.
"When looking at the overall progress of our football team this season, it was agreed that we needed a fresh voice to take the club forward for the 2027 AFL Season. Once that decision was made, it would have been unfair to have Brad continue as coach any longer and that is why we have brought this decision forward to today."
Scott replaced Ben Rutten at the end of the 2022 season and won eight of the first 13 games in 2023 before the club dropped off dramatically to miss finals.
The Bombers' 2024 season suffered a similar fate, before Essendon endured a nightmare back end of 2025 - not helped by a horrific injury toll - that put Scott under pressure heading into this season.
Essendon held Zach Merrett to his contract after the then-skipper demanded a trade to Hawthorn, later relinquishing the captaincy.
Six-time best and fairest winner Merrett is widely expected to again seek a move away from the Bombers at season's end as he chases success.
It is unclear whether Essendon this time would genuinely consider offers for their most high-profile player as a major rebuild looms.